This was a first. Alongside the increasingly popular President’s Cup held this year at the Irving Convention Center in Dallas-Ft. Worth, USA Judo introduced the National Military & Police Championships that included reserve and retired personnel, as well as their dependents.

Much more than a new tournament, the event marked a beginning. “USA Judo is dedicated to re-energizing the sport in the Armed Forces,” said Corinne Shigemoto, USA Judo’s Chief Operating Officer.

“In the past, such events have been limited to active duty personnel,” said LTC Hector Morales, USA Judo’s representative on the IJF Military and Police Judo Commission.

Also, Morales said, there were few opportunities for military judoka returning home to compete in a sport that had lots of opportunity overseas. “These military athletes have found very little opportunities to compete at the national level against other service members,” Morales said. “This tournament was a big move toward changing that,” he said.

Both Morales and Shigemoto said they were committed to going bigger and better next year, and to finding more ways of providing training and competition for the military – active, reserves and retired, as well as their dependents and police.

Results have been released for the recent Millitary & Police Championships. Go to RESULTS.
“We expect a lot of growth in participation from the military and police communities,” said Shigemoto.